脾 Pi – Spleen : Lessons learned from Yin Earth Earthly Branch Si – The Snake : Lesson – You can take in a lot more than you think, but don’t overdo it The Spleen is associated with the 6th Earthly Branch 巳 – Si. This is one of the…

Another aspect to the more advanced Chinese herb learning method that I teach is diving into the huge amount of information concerning where herbs grow up.  Using the metaphor of the growth and development of a human being, it is undeniable that where we grow up influences the people we end up…

Topics covered 1. What to do when you cannot secure the herbs you need (for instance, Mahuang and Xixin) 2. What about growing our own herbs locally and using them in Chinese herbal formulas? If you are interested, please check out parts I and II of this interview. Back to…

When I contacted Mark Silver, founder of the Heart of Business and Portland local, I was hoping to entice him to come and speak to students at NCNM.  I succeeded in that, with the additional bonus that he was kind enough to offer to do a podcast interview with me for Deepest…

Topics covered 1. How one uses the Shang han lun in contemporary clinical practice, particularly concerning complex diseases typically seen in modern times 2. The importance of specializing in a particular style of Chinese medicine 3. Some advice to those of us seeking Chinese medicine knowledge I think you’ll really…

This is the first section of a three part interview with Dr. Arnaud Versluys of the Institute of Classics in East Asian Medicine. Arnaud has been part of my education and inspiration in Chinese medicine since the beginning.  As well as leading & teaching at ICEAM, he practices his craft…

Topics covered 1. My reflections as I come to the end of my first term/quarter in clinic at NCNM 2. The importance of memorization 3. The weirdness of caring for patients 4. Using all our gifts Note: The book about Davinci that I reference in the podcast is an easy,…

Topics covered 1. How a classical understanding can transform our understanding of medicine 2. The real importance of legendary figures in Chinese medicine history 3. What the classical approach lends to a contemporary Chinese medicine context & the importance of lineage Back to podcast archive

This is the first of a two part interview series with Dr. Heiner Fruehauf.  Heiner is a founding professor of the school of Classical Chinese Medicine at National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, OR, owner of Classical Pearls, purveyor of truly great Chinese herbal products and primary contributor to…

Topics covered 1. What it means to have confidence in clinic 2. Shy I believe memorization is so important for Chinese medicine practitioners 3. Best practices for memorization Back to podcast archive

Topic covered 1. Different schools of Chinese medicine and how students should look at the possibility of “choosing” between them (it’s a big topic, and the only one in this podcast) Back to podcast archive

I am honored to offer this interview of Brandt Stickley talking about his practice and teaching of Chinese medicine.  This was early in the podcast’s history, and the first interview, so the sound quality is a little dubious.  Dr. Stickley apologizes for his very high volume. Topics covered 1.  Contemporary Pulse Diagnosis…

Topics covered 1. What can Chinese medicine do for cancer? 2. Difficulties in pulse diagnosis 3. Confidence in prescribing herbal formulas Note: The natural medicine business blog I mention in the podcast no longer exists. Back to podcast archive

Topics covered 1.  The power of self-cultivation for Chinese medicine practitioners 2.  Caring for patients from the moment they arrive until the moment they leave Note : You can find most of the links discussed in the post in the recommendations vault. Back to podcast archive

Topics Covered 1.  My clinical experience thus far: difficulties and excitement 2.  How I use visualization as a way to learn to be more effective and efficient in clinic 3.  A few questions I have about clinical practice Note: The new blog (about natural medicine and business) mentioned is now…

This first try into podcasting had its bumps and bruises as I got used to the process of podcasting, including the technology.  As the episodes wear on, you can notice an increase in sound quality and my comfort with the process. Topics covered 1.  Focus and intention: getting out of…

As I’m working on some of the foundational materials for the upcoming Shennong Relational Herb Learning course, I’m revisiting some material from classical Chinese medicine texts that I don’t know particularly well.  It’s prompted me to get out my Big Chinese-English Dictionary and start slogging through the tedious process of translating…

I hope this reflection will be useful to all those Chinese medicine students out there who struggle with figuring out what TYPE of Chinese medicine to practice… Today, on a walk I was taught an important lesson by some late migrating geese. In the late summer and autumn, we get…

Here are the last few paragraphs of my thesis in Chinese medicine for my MSOM degree at National College of Natural Medicine. As you can probably tell, I did not go as far with any of my research topics as I would have liked. I saw it mainly as a…

Over the next days, I will re-release the formerly posted chapters of my thesis (written for my degree at NCNM).   Not included at the time of first posting were the first three chapters of the thesis.  In those chapters, I write a brief history of the concept of pseudoscience…

Established readers : this is one of many reposted articles you will see in the coming months.  It is part of the redesign process.  I hope you agree that all of these articles are worth another look! The topic of the Six Conformations is huge.  So huge, it’s a bit…